NCAA West Regional
Date: Friday, Nov. 11
Event: 10K
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Chambers Creek Regional Park - University Place, Wash.

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's cross country team continues postseason action this week when it makes its way to University Place, Washington, for the NCAA West Regional on Friday, Nov. 11. Seven Anteaters are entered in the men's 10,000-meter race that is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start at Chambers Creek Regional Park.
 
QUICK HITS
• UCI's seven student-athletes entered in Friday's 10K race are all sophomores eligibility-wise.
• Six of the seven also ran the 10K at last year's NCAA West Regional in Sacramento.
• Joshua Schuld enters this week's meet with the team's top 10K time at 32:04.4.
• UC Irvine placed among the top-six in all four of its scored meets this season.
• Three 'Eaters have entered the program's all-time top-10 in the 8K.
• Zeid Hussain tied a school record with a 48-second personal-best 23:47.0 at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 15.
• Lukas Amare added a PR 23:56.0 at The Big West Championships (Oct. 29) to sit at No. 3 on the all-time charts.
• Joshua Schuld, who clocked a lifetime-best 24:15.0 at the UCR 8K Invitational, ranks sixth in program history.
• The Anteaters do not have any newcomers as their roster features 11 returning letterwinners.
 
ALL-BIG WEST
Sophomore Lukas Amare became the first Anteater on the men's side to earn all-conference honors with a top-10 performance at The Big West Championships since 2017. On Saturday, Oct. 29, Amare led UC Irvine at the conference meet with a seventh-place showing, completing the 8K race at the UC Riverside Ag/Ops Course in a personal-record 23:56.0. Sophomore Joshua Schuld was UCI's next finisher in 22nd with a time of 24:41.9. The 'Eaters then had five more sophomores cross the finish line in succession, taking 41st through 45th place. Zeid Hussain led the pack at 25:15.1 and was followed by Juan Sanchez (25:17.1), Cameron Smith (25:18.1), Jacob Bustamante (25:21.7) and Henry McClish (25:23.5). As a team, UC Irvine was sixth with 146 points.
 
SOPHOMORE RECORD SETTERS
A trio of sophomores have made their way into UCI's all-time top-10 in the men's 8K. Zeid Hussain tied a 16-year old school record at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 15. He crossed the finish line in 23:47.0 to match Ricky Barnes' standard from 2006. Lukas Amare also broke into the top-three at 23:56.0, while Joshua Schuld's PR of 24:15.0 at the UCR Invitational ranks sixth. They are the first Anteaters to enter the program record books since 2015.
 
6K CHAMPION
Lukas Amare claimed the individual title to lead UC Irvine to a runner-up team finish in the Anteater Opener 6K at the ARC Fields on Sept. 1. The 'Eaters took two of the top-three spots and combined for 33 points to come in behind California Baptist (27), which was ranked seventh in the West Region at the time. Amare became UCI's first individual champion in five years as he pulled ahead of the lead pack on the final 1K loop for a two-second victory.
 
YOUTHFUL EXPERIENCE
Among UC Irvine's 11 returners are nine sophomores, one junior and one senior. The team's youth showed last year as they were eighth at the 2021 Big West Championships. Disappointed with their finish, the student-athletes took the initiative to dedicate themselves to an off-season altitude camp in Flagstaff, Arizona, on their own. They ran some of their highest mileage weeks of their careers and got in some of the best training they've ever had.
 
UP NEXT
Qualifying teams and individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Nov. 19.